Shoot the Rapids Modifications

Ok, for those of you who were at CP this hot holiday weekend, what changes were made to Shoot the Rapids? Are they running full boats, or is the back row (or one of the rows) still empty? Or, from what you can tell, have the boats been modified at all?

I rode sunday and they were filling all rows. There wasnt much to visually notice in terms of modifications but the ride ran great. The area before the canyon section seems to really be comming into fruition. The trees and bushes are really starting to bloom and make the area feel rustic.

Good to hear. Thanks for the update TTD. Maybe they made some slight track modifications in the offseason to resolve the issues then.

Does it move any faster through the troughs?

It is moving faster. They also add some "rapids" effects to the second hill which looks pretty cool from the Trail. They also added the splash windshield. These boats might be new as they don't say Cedar Point on the front anymore.

It definitely felt faster. And while in the front seat I did not get as soaked as last time. And yes, the boats were full. So I guess it is at it's prime working condition?

The ride is running very well. As stated above, the boats are running at full capacity. There is now a bumper type device on the front of the boat that pushes the water away from the riders. I rode the ride at 12:00 on Saturday and 2:00 on Sunday, there was no one in line. There was actually a longer line for Snake River Falls at some points of the day. The ride ops were also loading boats from front to back. Would the boats be more balanced if loaded from the middle?

Great news!!!

Are they finally letting you decide where to sit? Or are they still having Weight issues?

When i rode they were assigning rows similar to how they do on Diamondback. I think it was more of a we need to fill the boats assignment and less a weight dictated one.

I don't think weight placement is an issue. I was at the park today and the boats were not full (not surprising on a weekday) but the riders seemed sporadically placed. Some boats had riders in the front, others had riders in the back. It's looking good for 2011.

Still a noticeable jarring at the bottom of the second hill, at least in the back seat.

Rode Sunday as well. Like TTD said, no line at all. SRF and TC both had longer lines. This was my second time on STR, and I really tried to like it, but it's just so . . . dull. GF agreed. Much better time on TC and SRF though.

Agreed...I haven't ridden it this year with the new improvements yet, but the ride was so dull last year. Judging by its lines as basically a brand new attraction, it's not a hit with the general public either.

I'll never understand this choice. Everyone thought it looked dull upon announcement, and the ride was even more dull than it looked. I get that Cedar Point wanted a family flume, but there were much better options from Intamin.

As it stands, Holiday World's Pilgrim's Plunge was not only much cheaper, but I'm confident it would have had more success than StR at Cedar Point.

I have to disagree with you. PP is basically a standard shoot-the-chutes with an elevator lift. Apart from the unique method of elevation and its record-breaking height, it's a pretty freaking dull ride. StR, although not as fun or interesting as a classic log ride design, at least has more going for it than a pop-and-drop.

And anyway, they already have SRF.

+1 I really think that in a few years, once the foliage has grown in back there, the ride will have a lot of the charm factor that helped make WWL such a nice ride.

I'm speaking of success in terms of return on investment. Holiday World's Pilgrim's Plunge cost a little over $4 million. Shoot the Rapids clocked in at over $10.5 million. So, if a PP-style ride had been constructed at CP and drew just half of the attention, ridership, and interest that StR did, it'd be considered more of a success in my book. No problem with anyone disagreeing; that's what these forums are here for.

If it was my park, I wouldn't have built either personally for a family flume attraction. But, if I had to pick 1 of those 2 for the highest success, it would have been PP without a doubt.

I feel the PP/StR style boats are designed for a thrill ride. The charm of flumes was that you were unrestrained and had a private vessel with your loved ones. These boats were perfect for PP, as it's basically 1 giant thrill ride...up a terrifying elevator lift and down a record-breaking plunge, with a boat of screaming people, adding to the experience.

With StR, they take away from the experience. You're locked down in a bar that gives you the sensation that you should be doing something more daring than your typical flume. Then, you have 10 people on your boat that are dead silent. Few are talking about personal things and inside jokes, as everyone else on the boat would be involved. So, that private, relaxing discussion and reflection on the day experienced on WWL is gone. This is one of the major elements that makes the ride so dull in my opinion. I had lots of entertaining conversation and joking on WWL over the years with loved ones / friends. These same people became dead silent (including myself) when with a bunch of others on board StR.

Sounds a lot like the last ride I had on Gemini, oddly enough.

Well, just thought I'd post an update on my thoughts of StR this year. Definitely improved.

While the splash guard on the front seems like it'd never work to keep water from pouring over the front, it works perfectly. This was a major problem last year, as it'd ruin anyone's shoes. It's fixed, and you can wear shoes safely now, at least on my ride.

The flume speed is definitely faster than last year, but it's still significantly slower than your typical flume. If they could make the flume speed twice as fast, with some hopping rapids, it might actually become a very good ride.

The music was a very nice touch last year, and it was oddly removed this year on my ride. That was disappointing, as I thought it helped make the ride a bit less dull last year.

The boats were floating well, and I did not experience a jerk on the second lift whatsoever. I'm not sure if it was fixed, or if that second lift just selectively catches boats improperly sometimes.

All water effects were working properly, definitely adding some excitement for a warm day, or dread for a cold day / night. I really think that the water effects should be on timer, or temperature sensor, predictably shutting off for colder days and nights. No one was riding StR, so they simply just shut it down once it started to become night. This is sad to see, as I love night rides in general, and that was my favorite time on WWL.

The amount of wetness was too much for my taste. It's definitely not Snake River Falls wetness, but I was still thoroughly soaked. The CP employee shooting us with the bombs didn't help on the colder day though.

I believe I rated StR a 5/10 last year. I'd rate it 6.5/10 this year with the improvements. My friend & I actually had the boat to ourselves, so the personal jokes were back, making it kind of fun.

The saddest thing about the ride though is that no one has been riding it every visit to CP since it opened. I mean no one...I saw empty boats cycling, with a rider or two every once in a great while. I don't quite get it...it must be the wetness factor, as I don't think the general public would think "Man, that's a terrible flume!" If it's not the wetness factor, they need to advertise StR around the park on signs, as it's well hidden to people that don't walk through the Frontier Trail.

I think a set of footprints on the ground to StR for a couple years might help get it some riders. Does anyone remember how people just followed those foot prints to the Beast back in the day at King's Island? It was hillarious seeing herds of sheep families just mindlessly following the foot prints to the Beast line.

^Under your fololw the shows around theory, would that work for the concession stands around the point? But, instead of footprints they could use dollar bills..